Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Four: Fang Hao

When Lu Yi walked out of the Security Bureau, the moon had already risen high in the sky. Gazing at the bright, flawless orb, Lu Yi sighed offhandedly, “This investigation took us all the way into the evening.”

He turned his head and surveyed his surroundings. He noticed that many people were waiting by the entrance. It made sense—this was their free time, and it was only natural to seize the opportunity to cultivate relationships with the protagonist.

Still, considering that peculiar incident, the protagonist would surely take a while longer before coming out.

Lu Yi looked closely. Lu Ningyu was quietly conversing with Li Xinran, who seemed quite unhappy at the moment. The group of girls around her appeared to be upset as well—their expressions dour, the atmosphere heavy with gloom.

Nearby stood a middle-aged man, shunned and isolated. Given what he’d done, such a situation was hardly surprising.

Not far from him, three men of varying ages lingered—one leaning against a tree, another resting his back on a lamppost.

At last, Lu Yi spotted another solitary figure: Fang Hao. After a moment’s thought, Lu Yi walked over and stood beside him, leaning against the wall just as Fang Hao did.

Fang Hao glanced at Lu Yi out of the corner of his eye, then silently pulled out a spicy snack, slurping it into his mouth with a sharp sound.

Lu Yi, feeling awkward under Fang Hao’s gaze, looked up at the sky and forced out a sentence, “Are you waiting for someone too?”

Fang Hao didn’t answer right away. He chewed thoughtfully, eyes still closed, before finally speaking in a slow, measured tone, “Why did you come over?”

“Huh?” Lu Yi was puzzled. “Why can’t I come over?”

“I misjudged,” Fang Hao said, a hint of disappointment in his voice. “I thought the crisis would happen on the suspension bridge. Turns out I’m just someone trying to force reality to fit a movie, not the strategist they were hoping for.” His expression was both bleak and unwilling to accept defeat.

Lu Yi shrugged casually. “So what? This is all our first time in a world like this. If you made a mistake, you made a mistake. Back then, I was completely at a loss myself.”

Hearing this, Fang Hao jerked his head to stare directly at Lu Yi. His eyes were so sharp that Lu Yi felt exposed, as if every thought was being laid bare. He even began to wonder if Fang Hao’s earlier demeanor had all been an act.

To avoid Fang Hao’s piercing gaze, Lu Yi turned his head away first.

Fang Hao frowned slightly, as though weighing something. After a brief silence, he asked again, “What are you looking at?”

Lu Yi’s eyes shifted. “The moon. The stars.”

Fang Hao seemed momentarily taken aback. He looked up, his expression twisting sourly after a few seconds—as if he’d just encountered a team of clueless allies in a mobile game.

Lu Yi felt a little uneasy under his stare, but couldn’t pinpoint why.

Fang Hao pressed his back hard against the wall and ate another spicy snack. He held the packaging in his left hand, raising it slightly so Lu Yi could see, then used his right hand to push aside the remaining three sticks. With a tone of faint reflection, he murmured, “It’s so fast.”

“Huh?” Lu Yi was confused. “If you like them, I’ll buy you some more.” He dashed off toward the distant convenience store.

Watching Lu Yi’s retreating figure, Fang Hao muttered, “Rotten wood, rotten wood…”

Lu Yi burst into the shop, grabbed three packs of spicy snacks, and as he was paying, spotted something else on the shelf. On a whim, he bought it too.

“Here you go,” Lu Yi said, handing the three packs to Fang Hao.

“Oh?” Fang Hao raised an eyebrow. “All for me?”

Receiving Lu Yi’s confirmation, Fang Hao accepted the packs without ceremony, weighing them in his right hand.

“You haven’t finished the others yet?” Lu Yi noticed that the original three sticks were untouched.

“That’s right.” Fang Hao turned to face Lu Yi, held the snacks up, and glanced at the three remaining sticks. Then, looking at Lu Yi, his voice dropped low, “Doesn’t this number seem familiar to you?”

“You just haven’t eaten them,” Lu Yi replied as a matter of course.

Fang Hao pushed up his glasses with his pinky, a cold smile on his lips. “Don’t you think it’s the same as the number of surviving natives?”

Lu Yi froze for a moment, then his heart jolted in realization. After confirming, he saw that the result matched: aside from the protagonist, only three natives remained.

Fang Hao popped the three sticks into his mouth, then split apart the three new packs, gliding his left hand across them.

“So, which one do you think should be eliminated next?” Fang Hao asked, his gaze strange and ambiguous. Without waiting for a response, he tore open a pack.

His meaning was all too clear. If the three natives died, then the Reaper’s scythe would hover over the heads of the trial-takers in an endless cycle.

A cycle. A cycle? An order!

A cold sweat broke out across Lu Yi’s back. If it came to that, even if the veteran trial-takers managed to foil the Reaper’s plans each time, it would only mean the order of the cycle reset.

Then, they would have to depend on the protagonist’s intuition and script information. What would happen to him? To the others? Would everyone remain rational, or would some try to alter the order for their own benefit—even if it meant harming others?

For instance, what if, upon learning they were next in line for the Reaper’s design, someone killed another trial-taker?

“So, you see now. That’s why I asked what you were looking at.” Fang Hao leaned back against the wall again, his tone flat.

Indeed, when had his eyes become fixated only on the protagonist and intuition, neglecting all else?

But Lu Yi looked at Fang Hao. “With the way you explain things, no one on a different wavelength would understand you.”

“Hmm, not quite.” Lu Yi glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention, then lowered his voice, “If that scenario is bad for us, then the protagonist’s intuition is even more valuable. We should make contact with him as soon as possible.”

“Make contact with the protagonist?” Fang Hao repeated coolly, then chuckled. “I can’t say for the rest, but even if you could, it won’t happen until we return to the city. In Shanelle Town, it’s impossible.”

Lu Yi frowned. “Why?”

Fang Hao raised an eyebrow. “Many reasons.” He lowered his voice further. “For example, it’s not in the interest of the veteran trial-takers.”

Veteran trial-takers! Only now did Lu Yi realize they were missing. He felt a stab of regret—was it because they hadn’t spoken to him at the bus or the rest stop that he’d begun to overlook their existence?

He took a deep breath and looked toward the Security Bureau’s entrance. “You’re saying they’re still inside, meeting with Xie Ruida now?”

Fang Hao shot Lu Yi a peculiar look, but didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Didn’t you ask me earlier if I was waiting for someone?”

Lu Yi nodded. “That’s right.”

Fang Hao squinted at the road ahead, glancing occasionally into the distance. “Now I can answer you: yes.”

Lu Yi furrowed his brow. “You said it’s impossible to meet Xie Ruida in Shanelle, so who—?”

At that moment, Fang Hao’s lips curled into a smile. “They’re here.”

“Here?” Lu Yi was baffled.

Fang Hao turned to him, his face confident and knowing. “You gave me three packs of snacks. In exchange, I’ve given you two hints and answered a question. Just think for a moment, and you’ll know. For now, best keep our conversation to yourself.”

With that, Fang Hao straightened, patted dust from his clothes, and began to recite with a shake of his head, “In Qi’s lands stretching a thousand li, with a hundred and twenty cities, every palace woman is privately devoted to the king, every courtier fears him, and within the four borders, all have requests of him. From this, we see…”

“The king is deeply blinded,” Lu Yi swiftly recited the next line, but confusion soon washed over him. What was Fang Hao trying to say by quoting this? It seemed similar to when he’d asked what Lu Yi was looking at.

But what exactly was blinding him? What had he failed to see? Before Lu Yi could ponder further, a screech of tires interrupted his thoughts. Several luxury cars pulled up nearby, headlights angled toward them.

The new trial-takers all looked bewildered. What was going on? Could it be that someone’s background had brought enemies with them into this world?

A car window rolled down first. Out poked Mad Blade’s head. “Yo, you’re all waiting here, huh?”